>> : hello everybody. welcome to union square. well, it's been a long road, hasn't it? it's been a long 15 months. i just want to start -- hi, everybody. i'm san francisco mayor london

breene. i want to start by recognizing the people of san francisco. i know the steps we had to take to address this global pandemic in this city. and the success of the steps that we've had to take had everything to do with all of you listening to our health directives, looking out for one another, supporting and uplifting one another. if you look at what's happened in other parts of the world and what happened in san francisco. this is one of the densest cities in the country, we have one of the lowest death rates in the country. good luck, ma'am. good luck. thank you.

as i said, san francisco fortunately has had one of the lowest death rates in the country. that has everything to do with all the work you have done to keep everyone safe. i want to say thank you to san francisco. thank you for all your hard work because it was a very challenging time and now that light that we keep talking about is finally here. i know you can't please everybody, that's okay. today, why are we here. as someone who grew up in san francisco. you hear me talk a lot about my grandmother. you hear me talk about living in public housing and my own experiences. when i think about some of the things my grandmother did and values she instilled in me, cleaning up in front of where we

live. i would do it kicking and screaming, we would wash the stairs. in my mind, i'm like why are we cleaning up for everybody else. she said this is your community, this is is your home. i don't care what people say about the projects, we're going to take care of our community. it's important that we make sure that we take care of this community so we can make sure that folks who care about it live here. i think about san francisco in the same way. it's not just about what i'm doing. it's not just about what the department of public works is doing. what are we collectively doing? what are we collectively doing to make sure that we take care of our city. a lot of what my grandmother taught me, i didn't understand the importance of it but it rubbed off on me what i got

older. when i was the director of the arts and culture complex, we kept it spotless. what i notice about the kids who go there, when they drop something on the ground by accident, they immediately pick it up. it's the values that were instilled in them. it's what i want to exist across this entire city. it can't just be about one city agency or one non-profit agency taking care of and cleaning up some of the challenges that exist here. it requires all of us to do our part. when we see some trash on the corner, we should call 311 immediately. we should never feel it's okay

to dump trash on the corners of the most beautiful city in the country. we should feel bad about throwing trash out side our cars or out on our streetses. we should feel bad about dirtying and messing up this beautiful city. we're a major city, we have challenges like any other major city. we know people struggle. we know we're making investments to address those challenges. that is no excuse for letting our city fall apart. why are we here today? san francisco is shining right now. we're a beckon of hope. when you think about it, we're a beckon of hope. people come here from all over the world, sometimes seeking

refuge or a new opportunity. folks like myself were born and raised here, i want to be a part of the success of this city. when i think about san francisco and shining. i don't care if it's foggy, i love our foggy weather. it's still shining. the hearts and minds and souls of the people of this city are shining. today is about reminding us how much we love this city and have to fight for this city. how we as a collective have to make sure that the work we do today demonstrates that we care about this city enough to ensure that it continue it shine on. so what does that mean? shine on san francisco. what does that mean? it means we are focusing on the things that aren't necessarily

the most popular thing it talk about, like new trash cans that are easier for the public to use. making sure they are strategically placed for people to throw things away. we know it's not exciting to talk about the 311 system so it's easier to use for the public. all of our non-profit agency that's do incredible work providing support for additional power washing sometimes is not really exciting but it is. that work that all of these people behind me, that work that they do to keep san francisco green and clean is so critical to making sure this city continues to shine. we are here today to announce

what i think is an incredible initiative. an initiative that we're hoping will catch on. yes, we have beautiful trees and other things that we're going to plant all over the city but we're announcing a campaign called shine on sf. as you can see from some of the buttons people are wearing is really about reminding us how important san francisco is to us. we have to take responsibility for this city. we have to work harder to keep it it the green an clean and beautiful city we all know an love. we're going to be making some unprecedented investments. trees, garbage cans, making things easier to get things

cleaned up in their communities. we have a lot of work to do in san francisco. this is a critical part of our recovery, our economic recovery. not just people who visit and shop here an visit from all over the world but the people who live here. people who want to walk down the streets and feel they are safe and clean. how do we make san francisco better? we have to work hard for it. we have to fight for t. that's . that's what we're here to do today. fight for the future of san francisco. let me just go over a few of the initiatives. one point eight million dollars to make this shine on sf program permanent. power washing and mobile teams, office of economic and work force development, that's in addition to the power washing of

streets and sidewalks that we already do. activation in our public spaces. randomly some performers and singers are going to start performing. it's going to be really fun. a total of ninety six point two million in the budget for cleaning and beautifying for our communities. ninety six point two million dollars. it's not just the work of the city. i want to take this opportunity to thank some people who decided that they wanted to support this city and came up with a concept of shine on sf. they worked with a number of folks, a number of community stake holders because they wanted to do something to give

back to the city. howard, are you here today. thank you. thank you so much for your vision an work and support in making this a realality. thank you to jennifer kiss for the consultant work you did and the advocacy. because of their vision an leadership, this shine on sf commitment is a reality that i'm committed to supporting in our upcoming budgets and partnering with our private and public sectors to make sure we are consistent in the work that we need to do to take care of our city. i also want to thank so many of our department heads including our assessor recorder, our city administrator, our department of the environment director, three

11 director, director of department of public works, and director of the office of economic work force development. incredible leaders, it does take a village. they will be working hand in hand collectively and working withing the ambassadors who are always out here taking care of the community and your department of public works team. so many folks in the district and the union square community business district, so many people. it does take a village. when you see these folks working everyday, just say thank you. thank you. because they are out here working hard. they are showing up when others are not. we appreciate them. what we want to happen is when people come to san francisco or people come from other parts of

the sety to union square or any other incredible spaces to enjoy live music or shop at our great department stores or have a live experience at a restaurant, we want it make sure they walk away with a smile on their face. that's what shine on san francisco is all about. reminding us we have to fight like heck to keep it a way to make sure all of us continue to love it and be proud of t. thank it.thank you for being here tod. with that, i want to bring back our partner in this effort. bring up a person who has been traveling all over to get people excited about returning to san francisco. to visit from all over the world to come back to san francisco from a number of the conventions and all the great things that

are happening. the head of the sf travel association for san francisco joe. >> : thank you mayor. thank you for your leadership during the pandemic and our recovery which is essential. thank you for your budget initiatives. it's going to make sure san recovers quickly. we cannot do it alone. it has to be given by all of us. private sectors, associations, individuals. all of us have to be a part of it. why is it so important now? travel is the backbone of san francisco's economy. $10 billion in that economy. the telling the story of san

francisco. travel and tourism is not just about visitors. it's about the people who work in san francisco and the industry to support the city that we love. the employees who count on san francisco to feed their families. those that inspire us to help the the city shine. we want to be part of the solution to make this city shine that we love so much. with all of us coming together with the public and private sector. we are inspiring action and change. we appreciate the investment that the mayor is making. encouraging travel and tourism to come back and get the city back on its feet. encouraging return to conventions. it's all about making people welcome in san francisco. we're committed to make shine on

sf successful in san francisco. come together to care for our city to make san francisco the best and brightest destination for economic recovery. i'm tired of this narrative of people jealous of san francisco who tell terrible stories. it's time for us to take over this narrative and take charge back. look how beautiful and diverse this city is. it's the city we love. shine on san francisco. i'm pleased to be a part of this initiative. now i'd like to invite one of our partners. the executive director of the tender loin community business district to come up and say a few words. >> : thank you. i'm the executive director of the community district.

i'm proud to be a part of shine on sf. we deal with some of the city's toughest issues. we support an incredible neighborhood. immigrants, families, long time san franciscans who found a safe haven from rising housing costs. our cleaning team out there everyday sweeping up the streets. it's a lot of need in the neighborhood. people are struggling on our sidewalks, more so during the pandemic. we see it everyday. we see other neighborhoods getting more attention. that's why shine on sf matters.

it brings people together. my organization with city organizations it brings many of us together from all other the city to work together towards a common goal to make this city, our city the most beautiful city in the world. we know how hard that work is going to be. it takes coalitions. large coalitions working together, that works. people working together towards a common goal, that's what is going to deliver change to the city. a group of us came together with a vision for community safety. we were worried about our neighborhoods and had an idea about how to deliver community safety. we presented that idea to the mayor. i have to say, mayor, thank you. she stepped up and took our request and made it happen. right now we have more officers

walking the beach, more practitioners and more on the way engaging with people to build community safety. we have a presence and commitment from the city to work with us. that's what a coalition can do. in partnership with sf, 15 other community benefits in the city, we'll integrate our operations in 311. it's one of the most exciting things to happen in this district in the last three years. the city administrator to say what will happen if we can integrate all of these teams in addition to public works who are out there everyday cleaning up the sidewalks. we can close that request with a photograph to go back to the

person who submitted the request. it's going to be a revolution. in addition to that 311 integration, that exciting element, we're excited about the trash can receptacle and the vision that the mayor brought to think about a comprehensive system to the trash cans in the tender loin. the funding from those two sources at every intersection. there's a pilot. we think it's important for a major city with a lot of commercial traffic to have a place for people to throw their litter so it doesn't end up on the sidewalk. that's something shine on as brought as well. the coalition an the stake holders working together. we need a boost. it's been a hard year for the city, nation. it's not always going to be

easy. there's going to be hard days. we're san francisco. we care about our city. that's how we do it in the tender loin. that's how it will bring us together in each and every neighborhood in the city. now i'm supposed to introduce vince. a hero who emerged with a new model for thinking about cleaning the city. >> : i'm humbled and honored to be here as part of shine on. i've only recently done what many of these people's life's work has been to take care of this city. i learned how to become an adult here. i met my wife here. i'm raising two girls here in the city who go to sfusd. in pandemic life trying to

figure out thing it do outdoors. let's pick up right in front of our streets. it turned into streets getting cleaner. let's clean up the rest of our block. maybe other people could do the same thing. i started to notice a few things. there were a lot of people already doing this and going out on their own and organizing maybe hood clean ups. a lot of city services and non-profits dedicated to keeping the city clean. it's so easy. how hard is it to pick this up? how much does it cost? i promise at least for myself to keep refusing refuse. it's a small and simple thing we can all do. it doesn't take much. just get up off your couch and come out. it's not that giant sweep that's going to keep the city clean,

the tiny pick everyday. the trash is relentless but we are more relentless. it doesn't matter where you live, everyone deserves a clean street. people are coming out of their houses and we're creating opportunities to join us and making it really easy and fractionless to come out. i think more people are going to feel empowered like i have. that's my hope. i'm really hopeful for this city. i really love it here, of course. i invite you to come clean with me. go to my website. shamelessplug. a lot of people doing a little bit that's going to make a big difference. if you have been here or just moved here, can you do something. we have these golden tree that's

are fantastic, so beautiful. thank you so much for creating them. genius idea. it asks, what makes san francisco shine? for me, we are leaders. we are leaders in environmental justice, stewardship, activism. we're leaders in lgbtq plus rights and we're fighting for that. we're a place where a young girl of color from the projects can can grow up to be our leader. i love mayor breene. i hope everyone comes out because the next question should not be -- there's so many reasons to love san francisco. the next question is how do you love san francisco. what do you do each day to show and demonstrate that you love

san francisco. we can be that light that shows the rest of the world how it's done. we're going to get it done here. i hope to see you out there cleaning the streets with me. >> : hello, everybody. i represent the artists of our city. thank you so much. i work with an organization called san francisco, we're a street team of sellers in the area. we advocate for each other to raise our voices up. we help make the city more fun. we're so excited to be involved in the shine on sf project. we helped to create build intrigue not alone. we helped to create the art as

part of the tree. on behalf of all of the shine on partners, i see them all today. jennifer, and howard and phillip. i want to mention everybody. they are going to start the music here soon. the san francisco parks -- we couldn't do this tree without them. i hope you will join us today and tell us what you think makes san francisco shine. everybody has something that you love about the city. the park alliance they coordinated all the volunteers and the site hosts. they are active activating these trees over the summer. check it out. these trees are creating a conversation in the city. i was out at the skate and place which is one of our site hosts. it brought me to tears to hear

the conversations about all the things people love about san francisco. it made all of the work feel really good. now, i would like to invite the mayor, an members of all the shine on sf leadership committee to gather at the golden tree and we're going to fill out a card. thank you all. >> : thank you all for being here. let's remember to keep san francisco green and clean and also with covid, we weren't able to do our monthly clean ups in neighborhoods. department of public works will be resuming those most likely in august. we invite you to come out and help us clean up the streets. in fact, i'm going to be at the next couple of clean up initiatives and randomly picking

people who show up to clean with me so we can hang out and talk while we clean up and green up. let's show them what we're made of. shine on sf.